HOW DO YOU MAKE BEATS?

In Hip Hop there is two ways you can make beats. Either you can sample or make original beats using a keyboard. Sampling is when you take a small portion of another artist work and then basically adding your own instruments to it such as kicks and snares. Kanye West, DJ Premier, The Alchemist and J-Dilla are samplers for example. Manny Fresh and The Neptunes are producers who don't sample and mainly use a keyboard to make their instrumentals. Timbaland is an excellent producer who actually utilizes both techniques. I personally prefer to sample because I'm more talented at that. I recommend trying out both techniques to see what suits you better. Try not to force one or the other.

BE ORIGINAL

A lot of rappers are not successful nowadays because they try to hard to emulate someone else. I never understood why people do that. If I want a 2pac record I will purchase his album. If I want to listen to T-Pain then I will buy his work. The consumer does not want to hear a carbon copy. I believe that the only time you should copy someone is when you are just beginning. At that stage you should try to do exactly what your favorite artist does and master their style. After that you should branch off and add your flavor to it.

Nowadays people are scared to be there selves. My theory is that the artist and labels are so concerned with money that they are not willing to experiment. They like to follow formulas that appear to work for the moment. They are quickly disposed of after one album. The most noticeable effort is the overuse of autotune. The funny part about that is technically T-Pain is not the first person to be successfully using a gimmick like that. Anybody remember Roger Troutman? LOL

At the end of the day it's better to be yourself and let your personality shine on the track. If you are funny then make the listener laugh. If you are a so called gangsta then let the consumer know what trials and tribulations that you been through. If you are a back packer then make some boring positive songs with lackluster beats like other backpackers.LMOA. If you want some overnight money then try to do whats been done already. If you want to have a career like Jay-Z, Busta Rhyme, Snoop and Scarface then be original. My own mother can tell the difference between a Busta song and Snoop! That's the ultimate test. If your parents, who are way out of touch can tell rappers apart then that rapper is on to something.